Who really asked for ‘Hell 2upée’?
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So, we are doing this again. Eight years ago, one could only conjure the worst-case scenarios in one’s mind about what was going to happen and, gadzooks, did the ensuing 45th presidency work overtime to meet our low expectations. Very little policy was passed to help the American people, a pandemic response was fumbled badly, a revolving door of staff was established on the Hill, relations with key international bodies soured, and the appearances of chumming with bad actor leaders felt a bit gross coming from the alleged leader of the free world. Pardon our slip … it all felt gross.
And yet, “Americans have spoken” as of November 5 of last year and we’re apparently just fine with putting the putz and his baggage back into power. Just like in 2020, factual records prove the 47th president was duly chosen in the general election to take office and uphold the constitution. As opposed to how things panned out between 2017 and 2021, we should expect the same 47th president to do his damnedest to bowl over government and the rule of law as we know it, telegraphing his intentions as he has for many months in advance and starting right in with the damage as of Monday night. (Don’t act surprised at this point, unless you’ve been willingly tuning out the rhetoric.) If his smarmy and aggravated demeanor, clearly deteriorating as it has been year after year, as well as his incompetent leadership skills, which were on full display for four years straight except for on occasions favoring himself like when he managed to incite a mob to attack the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021, are deadening us almost to a tee, the live wires he is nominating for cabinet positions will surely jolt us back awake.
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Are we really willing as a nation to roll with the sucker punches that he, his appointees, and über-rich fanboy Elon Musk will attempt to land on us left and right between “Day One” and January 20, 2029? Time to punch back – yes, this means you, centrist Democrats, moderate-to-center Republicans, reasonable independents and Libertarians, and those who honestly believe in a fair, balanced, and welcoming democracy – with all the smarts, tools, and legal means at our disposal if the continued promise of the United States of America and all its complexities, contradictions, and flaws are worth navigating and fighting for. Pay attention to the research and reporting that is not connected to what No. 47 overtly favors. Find your place in the organizations and movements working to buffer their strongarm tactics, dispel their bombardment of mixed signals and disinformation, and halt potentially criminal action. Protect the needs of yourself and yours while being mindful in the lives of your neighboring citizens and helpful with the functionality of your communities. The cretin-in-chief is bound to inflict chaos as a would-be and self-described “peacemaker” and “unifier” as invoked in his inauguration … Stump speech? Boast? Dog whistle? Bullshit? Yes, all that and more.
Unlike in 2017, when we were compelled to write about national politics on CUBlog for the first time, we don’t have any clever allusions to make between this development and our bread-and-butter entertainment interests, nor the funny off-ramps and asides to try and help dull the confusion, fear, disappointment, or anger of our dearest readers but for a moment. The implications of having Donald J. Trump, Jr., and his acolytes in our faces and treading on our very existence for even longer – it’s not like his influence ever really let up during the tenure of our 46th president and his vice-president, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, did it? – is a gut wrench that will be hard to tough out. We must, though. Our country depends on it. Don’t hesitate to be proactive out there and do some good where it can help.
C-U Blogfidential will return to its regularly scheduled embrace of the movies, movie makers, and movie scene of Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond with our next post. Thank you.
~ Jason Pankoke, Editor and Publisher